Phono-Comb was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...
/modern
surf rock
Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental su ...
group that formed in 1993 in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
.
History
Phono-Comb first materialized when
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best known for the track "Having an Average Weekend", of which an alternate version was used as the theme to the Canadian sket ...
played with
Jad Fair
Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.
Biography
Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi ...
when he was performing in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
to promote a film about his band
Half Japanese
Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair around 1975, sometime after the family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland. Their original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playi ...
. Shadowy Men were planning a hiatus around this time, and guitarist Brian Connelly opted out of the planned follow-up recording project (although he is credited as a co-songwriter on all the songs).
Don Pyle
Don Pyle is a Canadian record producer and musician, who has been a member of a number of bands. Pyle is openly gay.
Life and career
His first group, from 1979 to 1981, was a punk band called Crash Kills Five. They released one EP in 1980, ''W ...
and Reid Diamond invited
Dallas Good
The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian ...
of
The Sadies
The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian ...
to step in, and 'Jad Fair & Phono-Comb' was born. They recorded a single in 1995 and a full-length album, ''Monsters, Lullabies...and the Occasional Flying Saucer'' in 1996. After this recording, Fair returned to his solo career, and the remaining trio recorded an instrumental single. In 1996, they added
Beverly Breckenridge
Beverly Breckenridge is a musician, composer, and actress from Toronto, Ontario. She played bass for the bands Fifth Column and Phono-Comb.
In 1986, Beverly Breckenridge joined the post-punk band Fifth Column.
Beverly's first appearance on film ...
(of
Fifth Column
A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...
) on bass, and Reid Diamond switched over to guitar. As a quartet, they recorded a CD, ''Fresh Gasoline'' with
Steve Albini
Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...
producing. The band toured throughout North America and one of their songs was featured on the soundtrack of the documentary film ''
Pitch''. Reid Diamond died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
in February 2001.
Dallas Good
The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian ...
died from a heart condition in February 2022.
Members
''Jad Fair & Phono-Comb:''
*
Jad Fair
Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese.
Biography
Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi ...
- vocals
*
Dallas Good
The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian ...
- guitar, also with
The Sadies
The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian ...
*
Don Pyle
Don Pyle is a Canadian record producer and musician, who has been a member of a number of bands. Pyle is openly gay.
Life and career
His first group, from 1979 to 1981, was a punk band called Crash Kills Five. They released one EP in 1980, ''W ...
- drums, formerly with
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet are a Juno Award-winning Canadian instrumental rock band, formed in 1984. They remain best known for the track "Having an Average Weekend", of which an alternate version was used as the theme to the Canadian sket ...
*Reid Diamond - bass, formerly with Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet
''Phono-Comb:''
*
Dallas Good
The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Brian ...
- guitar
*
Don Pyle
Don Pyle is a Canadian record producer and musician, who has been a member of a number of bands. Pyle is openly gay.
Life and career
His first group, from 1979 to 1981, was a punk band called Crash Kills Five. They released one EP in 1980, ''W ...
- drums
*Reid Diamond - bass, switching to guitar when Beverly Breckenridge joined the band.
*
Beverly Breckenridge
Beverly Breckenridge is a musician, composer, and actress from Toronto, Ontario. She played bass for the bands Fifth Column and Phono-Comb.
In 1986, Beverly Breckenridge joined the post-punk band Fifth Column.
Beverly's first appearance on film ...
- bass, formerly with
Fifth Column
A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to un ...
Discography
''Jad Fair & Phono-Comb:''
*1995 ''In A Haunted House'' 7" Derivative Records
*1996 ''Monsters, Lullabies...and the Occasional Flying Saucer'', CD, Shake the Record
''Phono-Comb:''
*1996 ''The Crass And The Switchblade'' 7"
Touch & Go/
Quarterstick
A quarter stick is a large firecracker that falls within a certain range of dimensions. Typically, a quarter stick consists of a thick walled cardboard tube containing approximately of pyrotechnic flash powder, with a short length of Visco fuse ...
*1996 ''Fresh Gasoline'', Touch & Go/Quarterstick
References
External links
Phono-Combat
allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
Phono-Combat
Jam!
Jam! was a Canadian website which covers entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network.
Jam! was the only media outlet ...
Southern Records' Phono-Comb biography''Fresh Gasoline'' ReviewThe Shadowy Site On A Shadowy Web(Unofficial Shadowy Men Home Page with a section on Phono-Comb)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phono Comb
Musical groups established in 1993
Musical groups disestablished in 1999
Musical groups from Toronto
Canadian indie rock groups
Touch and Go Records artists
Canadian instrumental musical groups
1993 establishments in Ontario
1999 disestablishments in Ontario